EDIT: Apparently you can no longer use the mallet outside of Uldum. D: DAMMIT. Should have known it was too good to be true.

I've previously written about the amusement of carrying Archmage Vargoth's image around, and whenever I get some kind of cool appearance modification as part of a quest, I always check to see if it persists. For instance, in Hillsbrad Horde players now get an INCREDIBLY COOL slime backpack (Ghostbusters!) which sadly does NOT appear when outside the zone. I was so entertained running around with it on my back that I put off handing that quest in until I was entirely done there.

A few nights ago I was wandering about Uldum and discovered the repeatable daily quest Thieving Little Pluckers, where you smash pygmies with a comically large hammer called the Tahret Dynasty Mallet. It's a very fun quest, and the noises pygmies make are fast becoming my favorite monster sound. The hammer is also hilarious, as it makes a big impact noise and sends little dirt shockwaves away from you. (I believe it is the same animation as a Warrior's Shockwave ability.)

I did the quest and handed it in, but later wondered if this was a gateway into more fun. I went back the next day and was surprised to discover that the hammer continued to work outside of the quest area. This surprise turned to OVERJOYED EXCITEMENT when I learned that it worked not only elsewhere in Uldum, but anywhere in the world! I spent about 10 minutes gleefully running around Orgrimmar smashing the ground like a maniac, sending up little dust clouds and shockwaves, and probably really pissing off the earth spirits.

However it wasn't until the next day when a guildmate was talking about the quest that I had a true brainstorm. What if...what if you could macro the hammer? So that when you used a normal ability you also used the hammer? Surely that wouldn't work, would it?

Oh. My. God.

It works. IT WORKS! Despite having a tiny cast-time, you can macro it to any ability and your character will dutifully smash the hammer before/during the action, depending how you write the macro. The cast-time doesn't interfere!

I tested it extensively with two guildmates (Druid & Mage, and my Death Knight), and you can use it while jumping, while running, with both instant casts or long casts, etc. It never interrupts or cancels a spellcast - if there is any conflict, the hammer smash is what gets nixed. It's perfect!

The macro is simplicity itself:/use Tahret Dynasty Mallet
/cast Blink

The hammer works flawlessly in conjunction with any melee strike ability, as you do the big hammer swing combined with your regular attack animation. However, the best combination we found was with motion abilities (Feral Charge, Blink), as you appear to EXPLODE away from your original location, leaving a cartoon-style dust cloud in your wake. It's a very Nightcrawler-ish feel. I imagine it would be similarly fun with Disengage, appearing to launch yourself backwards with an explosion.

It also has an odd side effect with Feral Charge - instead of the druid "leaping" through the air, they seem to glitch out and just vanish/appear behind their target, like a kitty Shadowstep.

You can even use it with non-combat stuff! Fishing, hearthing, sitting down, saying something - it all works when you macro them together. Druids can use it with Flight Form, appearing to just detonate and soar off into the sky, and I have it bound to Will of the Forsaken, so now my DK does the normal "roar" animation as the earth in front of her explodes.

Will of the For-KABOOM!!

There is, however, one minor drawback (in addition to not being able to turn in the daily quest, of course). Using the hammer will stagger your forward movement for a split second. It's almost undetectable - in a 1-on-1 duel with sideways strafing and juking, it wasn't even noticeable, but we tested it by having one person /follow someone else and hammer constantly, and sure enough, they started to slowly fall behind. A very minor drawback, but probably enough to avoid using it in serious situations.

Of course, the other, less definable "drawback" is that it's probably REALLY distracting. As a melee DPS, I would never subject some poor tank to hundreds of mini-explosions and dust clouds totally obscuring his or her targets. If I were a ranged character, the animation wouldn't be so bad (since it wouldn't be right in anyone's face) but even the noise alone might annoy some people.

Example (with sound) of the explosion noise

Personally, I "jump shot" all my instant cast spells (Howling Blast, Chains of Ice, etc.) quite frequently, so I didn't macro the hammer to such abilities as I didn't want them interfering with any kiting. Otherwise, I have it macroed to all my direct strike attacks in my questing spec. (My other spec is my dungeon/raiding spec, which doesn't use the hammer at all...yet.)

Finally, I actually think this could be a sneaky PVP trick for any class that can vanish/turn invisible/whatever. The explosion/dust cloud isn't big, but it *is* unexpected, and may distract an opponent, especially since it might overlap with the stealthing sound.

And if you're REALLY mean (read: awesome), you macro Vanish, the mallet, and Archmage Vargoth's staff all together. I tested this, it works. Imagine an enemy player's confusion when they close in for the kill, only to see you smash the ground with a gigantic mallet(?), burst into a shockwave/dust explosion(?!) and bizarrely, seemingly transform into a phantasmal Kirin Tor archmage?!? Who is...offering them a quest?! Pure win.

And hey, it makes a sweet fishing rod too.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2010
at 8:45 AM and is filed under macros,pvp,silly. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.